South Dakota State poses challenges for fifth seeded Ohio State in NCAA Tournament opener

Ohio State will face South Dakota State Thursday at 4 p.m. in an NCAA Tournament game. The Jackrabbits feature one of the nation's best scorers in 6-9 forward Mike Daum.

Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop, center, drives to the basket against Penn State during the first half of an NCAA Big Ten Conference tournament college basketball game, Friday, March 2, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)(Photo: The Associated Press)

Fifth seeded Ohio State faces No. 12 South Dakota State and its All-American forward Mike Daum in an NCAA Tournament West Region first round game in Boise, Idaho. it will be televised by TNT at 4 p.m.

"Our job right now is to prepare us to play as well as we can play on Thursday. We know we’re playing a really good opponent," Ohio State men's basketball coach Chris Holtmann said Sunday evening.

While 5-seeds hold serve over 12-seeds in about two-thirds of all matchups since 1985, only two years since 2000 have the all the 5s gone undefeated in opener, the last happening in 2015.

And South Dakota State is a dangerous 12.

The Jackrabbits are 28-6 overall and took the Summit League with a 13-1 mark. They have won 11 in a row and 19 of their last 20.

SDSU has postseason experience as this is its third straight trip to the tourney. Last year, Gonzaga trailed most of the first half before pulling away late for a 66-46 win. Two years ago, the Jackrabbits sprang to life after trailing Maryland by 18, closing to within two points with 13 seconds left before losing 79-74. In the school's first-ever bid, it was within four points of No. 3 seed Baylor with a minute to go before losing 68-60 in 2012.

The Jackrabbits, under second-year coach T.J. Otzelberger, hold wins over Iowa (80-72), Buffalo (94-80) and Ole Miss (99-97 in overtime). Their losses were to Kansas (98-64), Wyoming (77-65), Missouri State (73-53), Wichita State (95-85), Colorado (112-103 in OT) and South Dakota (87-68).

The focal point of the team is one of the country's most unheralded players. Daum, a 6-9 junior forward, is one of three players to average a double-double, joining Saint Mary's Jock Landale and Duke's Marvin Bagley III. He puts up 23.8 points and 10.4 rebounds, while shooting 46 percent overall, 42 percent from the arc and 86 percent from the foul line.

A dozen times this season, Daum has scored 30 or more points, and he scored 51 in a game against Fort Wayne last year.

While Daum gets his points primarily on spot-up 3-pointers and post-ups, he's not the lone scorer. Freshman guard David Jenkins averages 16.1 points, while senior wing Reed Tellinghuisen puts up 12 a game.

SDSU is 11th in the nation in 3-pointers made at 10.6 per game and 12th in shooting it at 40 percent. It is sixth in the country in scoring at 84.9 points per game.

"In order to have a chance to advance in this tournament, you really have to be efficient in both areas. You have to be able to stop people consistently and then you have to be efficient offensively," Holtmann said.

Ohio State senior Jae'Sean Tate thinks he and his teammates will be up to the challenge.

"You don’t go into March just to be satisfied with winning one or two games," he said. "You go in trying to win, and I think that’s our whole mindset.

"The key is to play who is in front of you."

The key is to not get Daum-inated.

Rob McCurdy covers Ohio State men's basketball for USA Today Network-Ohio and can be reached at rmccurdy@gannett.com, work 740-375-5158, cell 419-610-0998, Twitter @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.